Ann Taves Elected Vice President of the American Academy of Religion

Ann Taves is the newly elected Vice President of the American Academy of Religion. Her one-year term begins November 19, 2007. As Vice President, Dr. Taves will serve on the Program Committee and be in line to serve as President of the AAR in 2010.

Dr. Taves is the Virgil Cordano, OFM, Professor of Catholic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Prior to joining UCSB, she taught at the Claremont School of Theology and the Claremont Graduate University for 22 years. Dr. Taves earned both her M.A. and Ph.D. in history of Christianity and American religion from the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Her publications include The Household of Faith: Roman Catholic Devotions in Mid-Nineteenth Century America (University of Notre Dame Press, 1986) and Fits, Trances, and Visions: Experiencing Religion and Explaining Experience from Wesley to James (Princeton University Press, 1999). In 2000, the latter won the Association of American Publishers Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Philosophy and Religion and was selected as an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice. She is currently working on two books: From Mediums to Mystics: Psychology and the Study of Religious Experience, under contract with Princeton University Press, and Experiencing Religion: Studies in Cognition, Culture and Personality.

Dr. Taves has been a member of the AAR for 25 years. She has served the membership in many capacities, including program unit steering committees, Journal of the American Academy of Religion editorial board, section co-chair, and program unit reviews. She has been actively involved with Annual Meeting panels and has devoted time to AAR committee work.